


Are You?/Aren't You?

by CandyXatu



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: (kinda), (not really but shh), Angst, Because self control is a foreign concept to me apparently, Catch me writing angst for older seasons to forget the pain that season 4 will surely bring, Crying, F/F, Hopeful Ending, Just... general Not!Sasha sadness :(, Oh yeah!! Implied Jon/Martin too, Season/Series 02, unintentional gaslighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 09:58:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18280814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandyXatu/pseuds/CandyXatu
Summary: The woman in the Archives wasn't Sasha, Melanie knew she wasn't.





	Are You?/Aren't You?

**Author's Note:**

> i'm making a habit of digging old fics out of the depths of my WIP folder to edit and post because i crave the validation, oops!  
> But,, anyway, i REALLY love Melanie/Sasha and i promised myself i'd post a fic with them at some point, i'm not really sure why i put it off for so long?? whatever, its getting late and i've hardly slept in the last few days, enjoy :-)

The woman in the Archives wasn't Sasha. For all of Jon's insistence, Melanie _knew_ she wasn't Sasha, and she clung to this knowledge like a lifeline.

 

She wasn't going crazy, she _can't_ have been going crazy. Melanie knew Sasha's face like the back of her hand, every pair of glasses she owned, every way she styled her hair, every outfit she wore, and this _thing_ calling itself Sasha fir none of her knowledge.

 

Sasha had tanned skin, long ginger hair that reached the middle of her back, she always wore round-rimmed glasses until she was home and settled with a good book, where she switched to her rectangular ones.

 

This Sasha was pale, her blonde hair barely brushed her shoulders, the glasses Melanie so often teased her for were gone. Jon claimed Sasha had never worn glasses, that she'd worn contacts since the day they'd met, but Melanie knew how much Sasha hated contacts. She fondly remembered a heated rant Sasha had gone on while they were on their first date, how she'd claimed it felt like stabbing yourself in the eyes to put them in, and how she'd ‘rather just be blind, thank you very much’. Melanie had laughed along, the cafe had been quiet, and people were staring, but she just didn't care. She'd never been more in love in her life.

 

 

 

"I can prove to you that she's Sasha,"

 

Jon was starting to get desperate. His attempts to convince Melanie growing sloppier over the last few weeks, often ending up with him simply _pleading_ with Melanie to stop whatever prank she was trying to pull. But she held firm, she wasn't going to let _anyone_ convince her that this _stranger_ was Sasha.

 

"How?"

 

In all fairness, Jon was actually prepared this time. From behind his back, he produced a stack of printed photos, placing them on the desk in front of Melanie.

 

"They're from the Institute's Facebook page. Sasha's in all of them."

 

Melanie took the photos carefully, like they were the most fragile thing in existence, as if by some miracle, if she was gentle enough with them, they might show her the real Sasha.

 

The first one was of a Christmas party from many years ago, judging by how much younger and unworried everyone present looked. Jon's hair wasn't graying, his skin unmarred by scars, he leaned contentedly into the arm Martin had around his shoulders, who looked well rested and confident, grinning wide and genuine. Tim, similarly unmarked, had his arms around two women, one Melanie recognized as Rosie, and the other-

 

Sasha. The fake Sasha.

 

Desperately, she flicked through the rest of the pile. A work trip to a bowling alley, the fake Sasha had her arm around an unfamiliar woman's waist. A Halloween costume party, the fake Sasha and Tim linking arms and wearing matching witch costumes. An outing at a bar, the fake Sasha sticking out her tongue and holding up a peace sign to the camera, leaning on Rosie.

 

She dropped the pile, gentleness forgotten. They scattered across Jon's desk, some fluttering to the floor. She felt Jon reach for her hand, but before he could reach her, Melanie turned and took off back down the corridor, door slamming shut on Jon's protest. She ignored the pointed looks from people she passed, ignored the questions from Tim and Martin as she burst into the Assistant's office and beelined for Sasha's desk, collapsing into her chair.

 

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, unsure of when she had started crying, and when she uncovered them, Tim and Martin were gone.

 

Her makeup smudged onto her sleeve, she sobbed harder.

 

"Mel?" A soft voice asked. Unfamiliar, and yet completely familiar. If Melanie looked up, she knew exactly who she would see. "What's wrong, love?"

 

"Nothing, Sasha," Even the name now felt bitter on her tongue. The name she'd said softly, with all the love in the world lacing her tongue, the name that once made her heart flutter and stomach twist, now reduced to a bad aftertaste. She felt nauseous. "Just... Jon… Being stupid." Not entirely a lie.

 

She heard the thing scoff good-naturedly, and looked up to see it pulling Martin's chair up to sit beside her.

 

"Don’t let him get to you. Do you want to talk about it?" An arm draped softly over her shoulders, she forced herself to relax into it.

 

" _No_." She responded sharply.

 

"Well, I'm always here if you change your mind." A cheek rested softly on her head, she relaxed further.

 

"I know." She leaned fully into the thing's embrace, what else could she do? If she acted too strangely it might alert it, and who could say how it would respond if it knew it's cover was blown? If it knew that Melanie knew? She would have to play the fool for now, as much as she didn't like it.

 

_Don't worry, Sasha. I'll find out what really happened to you, I promise._

 

A promise was the best she could do right now. She would find a way to convince Jon, he would know what to do, he certainly had more experience with this sort of stuff than she did, he dealt with this kind of shit for a living, for Christ's sake! He would know something, surely, and they could make a plan together. There must be a similar statement somewhere. Melanie vowed to find it, even if it was the last thing she did.

**Author's Note:**

> HHHH like i said, this is really old, from about?? September 2018 i think?? so,, yeah, excuse the writing ig shshdhshjhds
> 
> Oh yeah!!! please let me know if i need to tag anything else!! im REALLY bad at tagging stuff snhbdchjbd


End file.
